This invention relates to a turbine drive system, and more particularly to an improved system which can operate a vehicle either alone or in combination with a conventional engine, in order to reduce the amount of fuel or other energy source needed to propel the vehicle.
Vehicles are used in constantly greater numbers to provide transportation for individuals as well as for mass conveying. With the increased use of such vehicles, the amount of energy utilized to propel such vehicles is constantly increasing. Typically, vehicles are of the internal combustion type which utilize gasoline or other fossil fuels to propel the vehicle. Because of the inefficiency of the conventional internal combustion engine, the amount of fuel required to propel the vehicle is quite considerable. As a result of reducing supplies of such fuels, the cost of operating a vehicle has become an economic burden.
Numerous attempts have been made to resolve the problem of the increased cost of operating vehicles. Some attempts are directed to improve the operating efficiencies of existing engines in order to reduce the amount of fuel consumption needed to propel the vehicle. Other attempts have been directed to utilize different types of engines to drive the vehicle, which would entirely eliminate the use of fossil fuels. For example, numerous proposals have been suggested for electric vehicles operated by storage batteries. The batteries can be recharged at intervals in order to maintain their energy level for driving the vehicle.
While such proposed systems are attempts to reduce vehicle operating costs, thus far there has not been provided a satisfactory drive system for a vehicle which would sufficiently reduce the amount of fuel needed for propelling the vehicle.
One of the reasons for the lack of success of such proposals is that each of these proposed drive systems are based upon the utilization of an external energy source for driving the vehicle. Such energy sources are either the fuel in the combustion engine or the storage battery in the electric motor. However, by relying entirely upon an external source of energy to drive the vehicle there is not provided sufficient reduction in the source of fuel to satisfactorily reduce the operating costs of the vehicle.
Rather than entirely rely upon an external energy source, it is possible to utilize the inherent momentum of the moving vehicle and convert such momentum into useful energy to drive the vehicle itself. By focusing the attention of the drive system upon utilization of the inherent motion of the vehicle, it is possible to reduce the need of external energy sources to merely overcome frictional losses and initial starting of the engine. However, once the vehicle is in a state of propulsion, the existing movement of the vehicle can then be utilized to substantially propel the vehicle itself with the need of only a very minimal amount of external energy to overcome various losses.
The present invention utilizing such movement of the vehicle to drive the vehicle itself, includes a combination compressor and turbine set which operate on a common shaft, which shaft also serves as the drive shaft of the vehicle itself. The forward motion of the vehicle, and especially with the aid of the vehicle fan, produces sufficient suction of air into the compressor. Operated by the drive shaft, the compressor pressurizes the air and stores it in a storage tank which provides the source of high pressure air to drive a turbine of the rotor vane type. The turbine operates the drive shaft to propel the vehicle and also to operate the compressor. A return path is provided for the air back into the compressor. With the aid of an auxiliary engine for starting and overcoming frictional losses, as well as at such times as the momentum of the vehicle is insufficient to supply an adequate supply of compressed air, it is possible to reduce the amount of external energy needed to propel the vehicle. Such turbine drive system can be used independently of, or in conjunction with, a conventional engine of either the internal combustion or electric motor type in order to provide a more efficient operation of a vehicle.
In order to derive the greatest amount of energy from the pressurized fluid, typically air, it is also necessary to provide a highly efficient turbine. Prior fluid drive turbines have utilized only a minor portion of the available energy from the fluid because of the inherent engineering construction of the turbine elements themselves. Such construction has been based on the assumption that the additional quantities of energy of the turbine effluent of the conventional turbine is of insufficient magnitude to be of interest or economy in further harnessing the remaining energy thereof. However, utilizing an improved, more efficient type of turbine device it is possible to further reduce the loss of potential working energy and thereby provide an exceedingly efficient turbine which will be able to drive the vehicle.